Iberostar unveils new branding

Palma-based hotel group, Iberostar, has unveiled a new-look and new brand categories designed to reflect its core values.

The family-owned group, which has more than 110 hotels in 35 countries, has stuck with its long-established star logo but has given it a more updated design and is placing more emphasis on its 'Let it shine' strapline.

Hotels will be split into three main categories - City Hotels, Ocean Resorts, and Hotels with Heritage. A fourth brand, Grand Hotels, will include luxury hotels chosen from across each of the three categories. There are currently nine.

Each brand will have its own distinctive colour - cosmos blue for city, turquoise for ocean, sage green for heritage and coral for the luxury hotels.

The announcement was made by Sabina Fluxa, vice chairman and CEO, at an event in Madrid on Thursday night.

She said the new branding was based on a survey of 2,000 customers, 1,500 travel agencies and 100 employees and reflected the core values of 'authenticity, excellence, passion and closeness'.

It will be sharing the new look, positioning and vision with its UK trade partners in the coming months with a programme of roadshows to key agents and tour operators. Around 9% of its guests are from the UK.

The group, which has been running for 60 years, has earmarked €700 million in future investment, including hotel renovations and new hotels in Barcelona, Montenegro and in the Americas.

Around €500 million was invested in 2011-2017, including openings in Lisbon, Portals Nous in Majorca, and Miami Beach.

Iberostar owns 54% of its properties, manages 36% and leases the rest. Around 70% are four and five-star hotels but some four-star properties will be upgraded to five-star as part of the investment.